RALEIGH, N.C. – The Bowie State softball team split day one of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Round-Up Friday afternoon, defeating Livingstone 25-1 before falling to Johnson C. Smith 9-6 in seven innings at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex.

With the split, the Bulldogs stand 8-12-1 overall and 1-1 in the CIAA.

Game One: Bowie State, 25 – Livingstone, 1
Against the Blue Bears, the Bulldogs wasted little time cracking the scoreboard after plating a season-high 12 runs in the first inning, taking a 12-1 lead after one complete. Both teams went scoreless in the second before BSU added four more ignited by a pair of singles from junior Akirra Pullen (Baltimore, MD) and freshman Saniya Jones (Louisa, VA). Freshman Aliyah Smith (Stafford, VA) hit a double that brought home both Pullen and Jones. The Bulldogs would close out the third inning with two more to take a 16-1 lead over LC (0-1, 0-1 CIAA).

In the fourth inning, BSU scored three runs, followed by six in the fifth in route to their largest victory on the year and their first conference win of the season.

As a unit, the Bulldogs tallied 25 RBI's, 21 total hits led by Jones who finished 4-of-5 at the plate, scoring five runs and four RBI's. She also recorded two home runs in the contest which brought her total to six on the year. Freshman Haley Biven (Fairfield, CT) captured her first win of the season, striking out 10 and allowing just one hit in five innings pitched.

Game Two: Johnson C. Smith, 9 – Bowie State, 6
BSU took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning as neither teams scored in the second and third inning. Things looked upward for the Bulldogs in the fourth, gathering four runs on three hits that featured a single from graduate senior Aseyah Alexander (Silver Spring, MD), a triple from freshman Alyssa Cloutier (Derwood, MD) and a double from graduate senior Evelyn Buelhman (Ellicott City, MD), providing BSU with a 5-0 lead. The Bulldogs would maintain that lead until the sixth when JCSU (3-4, 2-0 CIAA) put together a 9-0 run on seven hits. B

Bowie State tallied one hit in the sixth but ultimately failed to score and would not add another run until the bottom seventh when Pullen sent one over the fence to give the Bulldogs somewhat of a spark offensively but the Golden Bulls defense eliminated any chance of a Bulldog comeback as the next three batters went three and out.

Cloutier went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI's and two runs scored while Buehlman suffered the loss, allowing five hits and striking out four in five innings of work.

Next Up
Bowie State will return to action Saturday, Mar. 27 with a pair of games against Fayetteville State at 10 a.m., followed by a nightcap with Claflin at 5 p.m. Both games will offer live stats on Bowie State athletic website along with live video.

For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State Athletics and its 13 varsity sport teams, please visit www.bsubulldogs.com.